Prehistoric Phenomena

The repository created here lists a collection of the documents published in the course of the ERC project Prehistoric Anatolia (ERC Starting Grant 263339; 2011–2016; PI: B. Horejs)

Starting point of the studies on Neolithic Imagery are the excavated objects depicting anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures as well as fantastic creatures at Çukuriçi Höyük (Türkiye) and in Svinjarička Čuka (Serbia), both representing pioneers in early to middle Neolithic periods.

During the past decade, the »ancient DNA revolution« has reopened key questions about prehistoric kinship that within archaeogenetics is narrowly viewed as genetic proximity. From a socio-cultural anthropological perspective, however, kinship is not only a biological but also a performative and imaginary principle for structuring and maintaining social relations. Frequently, it is not blood but houses that play a crucial role in forming kinship relations. Therefore, a unified study of dwelling spaces and biological markers of kinship is crucial to understanding kinship in prehistory.

In Southeastern Europe, the emergence of the Neolithic (c. 6000 cal BC) is associated with the development of two main Neolithic horizons, which have been identified based on two different ceramic styles: the Impressed Ware in the coastal areas (Adriatic) and the Starčevo–Körös–Criș complex in the continental Balkans.

By utilising micro-scale traces of human activity trapped within archaeological sediments, the NEOSOL project seeks to shed new light on the development of settled life along the Vardar-Morava river system during the early Neolithic Period.

The NEOTECH Project aims to shed new light on the Neolithisation process in the central Balkans. Excavations were conducted at the site of Svinjarička Čuka, during which remains of the Neolithic and the Metal Ages could be identified. This data will be contextualised along the Axios-Vardar-Morava River system, one of the main communication routes between the Aegean and the Danube.

This project focuses on the first permanent settlements in Neolithic and the development to proto-urban centres in Early Bronze Age period. Combining both research topics enable a broad spectrum of cultural modelling, based upon multidisciplinary, diachronic, and comparative studies concerning changing societies in a changing environment from the 7th to the 3rd millennium BC. Focus of this project are the analyses of our own excavations at Çukuriçi Höyük and of associated geoarchaeological surveys as well as related material studies.

The transition from hunting and gathering to farming and herding stands as one of the major economic changes in the human past. The origins of the Neolithic in the Near East and its expansion into western Anatolia and the Aegean basin are equally crucial for understanding the emergence of first village systems in Europe. Recent studies on lithic tools demonstrated that important technical innovations (pressure blade making, plant harvesting techniques) moved westwards alongside the dispersal of farmers, and became the essential part of new toolkits used in a variety of domestic activities. In line with the onset of new tools, arrowheads, which traditionally reflect the lifestyle of mobile hunter-gatherers, continue to be produced during the Neolithic in this area, despite the progressive decrease of hunting for subsistence.

The project aims to shed new light on the Neolithization process in the Central Balkans by analyzing green amulets from sites all over the Balkan region with the potential impact of new production technologies and the localization of deposits or Nephrite in the area of study. Starting point is a new exceptional find at the ongoing excavations at Svinjarička Čuka.

Around 4500 years ago, far-reaching trade networks can be detected for the first time, reaching from the Indus region to the Aegean Sea. Within the project, these networks are investigated by a case study at the site of Kalba on the south-eastern Arabian Peninsula. The fieldwork will provide insights into raw material procurement strategies and interaction spheres of a prehistoric coastal settlement. In particular, the relevance of lithic resources and the importance of Kalba as a node within maritime and terrestrial trade networks will be clarified.

By utilising micro-scale traces of human activity trapped within archaeological sediments, the NEOSOL project seeks to shed new light on the development of settled life along the Vardar-Morava river system during the early Neolithic Period.

The Prehistoric Sirvan Project deals with the prehistory of the Sirvan and Chardavol Valleys, especially the documentation of prehistoric activities, based on the outcomes of archaeological, environmental, and geological surveys and GIS analyses. Focus of the project is the Neolithic period in the early Holocene (site Choga Khaki) and its contextualisation in the broader Zagros region. Preliminary results indicate an occupation from the Middle Paleolithic until the end of the Bronze Age. Current analyses are focusing on the Neolithic period and its materials.

Platia Magoula Zarkou is a Neolithic and Bronze Age tell settlement in the western Thessalian plain excavated between 1976 and 1990. Pottery from the site decisively changed our understanding of Neolithic chronology, making Platia Magoula Zarkou a key site for the study of Neolithic Greece. The well-known house model gives new insight into the Neolithic social structure. This project aims to provide a holistic final publication of the site.

The Prehistoric Sirvan Project deals with the prehistory of the Sirvan and Chardavol Valleys, especially the documentation of prehistoric activities, based on the outcomes of archaeological, environmental, and geological surveys and GIS analyses. Focus of the project is the Neolithic period in the early Holocene (site Choga Khaki) and its contextualisation in the broader Zagros region. Preliminary results indicate an occupation from the Middle Paleolithic until the end of the Bronze Age. Current analyses are focusing on the Neolithic period and its materials.

The Prehistoric Sirvan Project deals with the prehistory of the Sirvan and Chardavol Valleys, especially the documentation of prehistoric activities, based on the outcomes of archaeological, environmental, and geological surveys and GIS analyses. Focus of the project is the Neolithic period in the early Holocene (site Choga Khaki) and its contextualisation in the broader Zagros region. Preliminary results indicate an occupation from the Middle Paleolithic until the end of the Bronze Age. Current analyses are focusing on the Neolithic period and its materials.

The Prehistoric Sirvan Project deals with the prehistory of the Sirvan and Chardavol Valleys, especially the documentation of prehistoric activities, based on the outcomes of archaeological, environmental, and geological surveys and GIS analyses. Focus of the project is the Neolithic period in the early Holocene (site Choga Khaki) and its contextualisation in the broader Zagros region. Preliminary results indicate an occupation from the Middle Paleolithic until the end of the Bronze Age. Current analyses are focusing on the Neolithic period and its materials.

The study of burial practices in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of the southern Levant will highlight similarities and differences. These results can lead us to estimate ritual and religious beliefs at that time and comparing these results with other sites and the surrounding regions to explore and define regional ritual patterns based on southern Levant.

The aim of this project is to take an innovative and explorative approach to understanding of the past in the Balkans by assembling the results of cross-border and diachronic archaeological research with the use of responsive, wide-ranging visualization tools.

This interdisciplinary project explores personal relations, gender and family structures at Bronze Age communities across the Austrian and Czech border (c. 1600–800 BC).

The importance of the neolithization process lies in its position as being a milestone in our social evolution when essential changes took place. These changes include: 1) a shift from mobile to sedentary lifestyle and development of architecture, 2) developed pyrotechnology and introduction of pottery and 3) the exploitation of domesticated species and shift towards farming.